Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/303159
I think it was Kevin Magee who first articulated the principle to me, way back when. Or possi- bly the ever-ironic Eddie Lawson. But I'm sure it had been around long before those far-off times in the heartland of 500cc GP rac- ing's golden age. The best way to get a good lap time on a Grand Prix bike? Take your brain out, and leave it in the toolbox. The performance of Jorge Lo- renzo in the opening two rounds suggest that, under the growing and clearly agonizing pressure of the seemingly invincible Marc Marquez, he may have taken this advice a bit too literally. At Qatar, a first-lap off was, in his own words, a beginner's mistake. At Austin there were almost no words to explain his extraordinary jumped start. The over-eager Spaniard explained he had been befuddled by the first-time need to remove a tear- off visor on the grid due to ex- cessive mosquito spattering. In consequence, he tore off himself - more than two seconds before everyone else. All things being equal this spells ruin to his title campaign, after he came close to seizing a late over- all win last season - thanks to fi- nally getting the right bike and the right settings to win the last three races on the trot; and thanks to Marquez zero-pointing when he was disqualified in Australia. That in itself proves that in GP racing things seldom remain equal. If this seems a little unfair (and it is written on the eve of round three in Argentina, when things could all change at a stroke), it also seems more than a little strange to watch Mr. Perfect ap- pear to have become unhinged. Lorenzo is the most methodical of racers, and the most self-con- trolled of people. He has applied conscious and deliberate study to both areas. To the extent of edging ever closer to weirdness. He has em- braced sundry systems of medi- tation, especially in his earlier years in the premier class, and they seemed to work pretty well. They meant he could accomplish a rapid transition from wild-man teenager – prone to punching his mechanics in the pit – to a sphinxlike demeanor both on and off his Yamaha. No other rider sweeps such a smooth cornering line, is more stable on the brakes or delicate with the throttle. He rides by num- bers, at 99 percent, which by no coincidence is also his chosen racing number. But it goes further. No other rider is as icy calm when he thanks his employers, team and sponsors. Even when he does get (as he describes it) "warm" about an is- sue, such as Marquez getting away with collisions and violent attacks without incurring punish- ment, he expressed his anger in measured steps, and only storms out of a riders' meeting when he judges it to be of maximum effect. (In this case, zero, as it turned out.) BY MICHAEL SCOTT CN III IN THE PADDOCK BRAIN FADE P134